A new tool to evaluate postgraduate training posts: The job evaluation survey tool (JEST)

Abstract

Background: Three reports in 2013 about healthcare and patient safety in the UK, namely Berwick, Francis an Keogh have highlighted the need for junior doctors' views about their training experience to be heard. In the UK the General Medical Council (GMC) quality assures medical training programmes and requires postgraduat deaneries to undertake quality management and monitoring of all training posts in their area. The aim of this stud was to develop a simple trainee questionnaire for evaluation of postgraduate training posts based on the GMC, U standards and to look at the reliability and validity including comparison with a well-established and internationall validated tool, the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM) Methods: The Job Evaluation Survey Tool (JEST), a fifteen item job evaluation questionnaire was drawn up in 2006 piloted with Foundation doctors (2007), field tested with specialist paediatric registrars (2008) and used over a thre year period (2008-11) by Foundation Doctors. Statistical analyses including descriptives, reliability, correlation an factor analysis were undertaken and JEST compared with PHEEM Results: The JEST had a reliability of 0.91 in the pilot study of 76 Foundation doctors, 0.88 in field testing of 17 Paediatric specialist registrars and 0.91 in three years of general use in foundation training with 3367 doctor completing JEST. Correlation of JEST with PHEEM was 0.80 (p < 0.001). Factor analysis showed two factors, teaching factor and a social and lifestyle one Conclusion: The JEST has proved to be a simple, valid and reliable evaluation tool in the monitoring an evaluation of postgraduate hospital training posts.